Once in a Lifetime
by panners
Summary: To the world, Soujiro was all that – rich, handsome and popular. But deep inside him is his turbulent past, the once in a lifetime opportunities that made him who he is today. A Soujiro biography.


Author's Note: I thought I'd try my hand at something different, and give myself a break from humour. This is intended to be more serious, something to complement the Hana Yori Dango universe, and to give me a break from writing Family Planning (which is intended to be funny, so I get a balance - like a diet!). It's not a continuation - it's more like an extension into the past. It's just events to explain Nishikaido Soujiro's life. Basically, it's Soujiro's history, his biography, his memoirs.

So, why am I doing this? I feel that Soujiro, who is quite an interesting character, did not have that much space dedicated to him in the manga. We were given a glimpse of his past; and I wanted to fill in the rest of the blanks because it will be challenging as to what developed and moulded him into the person he is today..

Disclaimer: Soujiro does not belong to me! Nor does Hana Yori Dango.

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**Once in a Lifetime**

By Onkiu

Chapter 1: Beneath the glassy surface

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My name is Nishikaido Soujiro. 

To most of the world, I am probably most famous for being the second oldest brother in the sixteenth generation of the Nishikaido clan, a family whose history had been entwined to the art of tea ceremonies. That is, of course, quite true. My family _is_ famous, with a long history, and bearing the Nishikaido family name is something that I am (often) quite proud of. I am fond of the art of tea ceremonies; I am fond of my history.

To the students of Eitoku, I am famous for being a part of the F4. We - that is, my friends Tsukasa, Rui, Akira and I - are the most handsome, and the richest boys at school. I like to think that I am the most handsome of the four; after all, I have been voted 'Most Charismatic' and 'Most Handsome' for the second year running by the Eitoku student body. But deep down, I know that any of the others could give me a run for my money.

Apart from that, we were also credited for making up the most stupid game in existence (most of this credit should go to Tsukasa), where we play God. Basically, we select a student who the collective (as in the F4) does not like and red tags them, thereby setting the whole student body against them and driving them out. It's Darwinism, survival of the fittest at its best. The law of natural selection in Eitoku. We, the F4, are above this law. So far, the only person who has outwitted us is Makino Tsukushi, a commoner who, to my surprise, Tsukasa fell held over heels for straight after she kicked him in the head.

But to the girls that I meet at the nightclubs that I frequent, I am _infamous_ for being a playboy. How on earth did I ever earn such a reputation? Sure, I'm handsome, charismatic, rich, but that doesn't make me a casanova, does it? It's not exactly as if I go after all the girls, it's more a case of them coming after me.

But thinking back, I can see what they meant when they said that nurture is a powerful influence. I guess it was the way I grew up that made me what I am today that shaped my attitude and my beliefs.

One of my earliest memories of my growing up would have to be from the time I was around four years old, inside our beautiful home. Whenever we have visitors coming to our house, we often get comments about how tranquil and peaceful it is. They must get this from the silence of this place. But beneath this calm and glassy surface, there are ripples that the visitors don't see. In fact, most of the servants of the household don't either. Only my family - that is, my Father, Mother, my older brother and I - felt it. There were tensions beneath the beauty.

At that time, Mother was pregnant, carrying my younger brother. She was nearing the end of the third trimester. Father was on another 'business trip' - probably to see one of his many mistresses.

Maybe, just maybe, this was where I got my womaniser ways.

My older brother Shouichiro and I were playing 'basketball' - a kid's version with a very low hoop - in one of the many rooms of our house that had been set up as a playroom for us. Being six years older than me, he had a considerable height advantage - and he made no qualms about using it against me. It was very fun; I had enjoyed playing anything with him, despite the fact that he always won because he was older, smarter and more physically capable than I was.

As I was about to shoot, a scream reverberated throughout the whole house. It was the most painful scream I had ever heard, and I was terrified. Before I knew it, I had dropped the ball and my brother had grabbed me by the hand.

"Let's go," he said, his face taut and frightened.

We made our way to where we had heard the scream - it was a large room where Mother often held her tea ceremony classes. There she was, lying on the floor, with a most painful expression on her face.

"Is she going to die?" I whispered to Shouichiro.

"I don't know," was his uncertain reply.

Servants that had heard the scream were now busily doing this and that around Mother. I was very young back then, and all I remember from this was a flurry of activity as servants busily called out to one another, "Call the ambulance!" and "Get her a blanket!" and all sorts of other commands.

After what seemed like an eternity, in which my brother and I stood helplessly around, not knowing what to do, some men in white came. I remember that back then, I had called these paramedics 'ambulance men'. The ambulance men took my mother away in a stretcher, and then Ueno, the head of our servants, escorted my brother and I to the hospital.

There we stood, two frightened children amidst all the hustle and bustle of the main reception of the hospital, as Ueno asked some staff for directions to the maternity ward. After asking a nurse, he took us both by the hand and lead us to an elevator. We arrived at the floor of the maternity ward, a ward painted in bright, pastel pink colours and stuck full of pictures of babies that had been delivered there.

Again he asked a nurse at the nurse station something - probably what room a woman named Nishikaido was. I couldn't hear what he had said exactly because I was much shorter and could barely reach the counter - or perhaps, I can't remember it because I was so young. Ueno made us sit down after that, and after waiting a while in the bare waiting room, a nurse popped into the room and whispered something to Ueno.

"It's a boy."

And then, she bent down to us.

"You have a little brother!" she squealed. "Isn't it exciting!"

For a moment, I blanked out before I realised what she had said. Mother, who I, a four year old with a wild imagination, thought was dying back at home, was in fact going into labour - and had given birth to the third boy in our family. My little brother.

The three of us were invited to enter the ward where my mother was. Cradled in her arms was the _ugliest_ baby I had ever seen. His face was all wrinkly and red. But my mother was smiling. She was very happy, and her joy would have been completed if her complete family was here.

Even at such a significant event as the birth of my younger brother, my father was absent, probably in the bed of another woman. Many years later, unbeknownst to me at that time, this would be repeated again - in my situation. I was truly like my father. The man by her bedside was not her husband - but a faithful servant.

Mother allowed Shouichiro, whom she trusted more than I to not drop the little bundle onto the floor, to hold our new little brother, and she smiled tiredly at us.

"Thank you for coming. I appreciate the support."

"There is no need," said Ueno. "What will you name him?"

In a dignified defiance against my absent Father, Mother broke all the traditions and naming conventions that had existed within the Nishikaido family for many generations. No number signifying his position in his name, no longer a 'wolf' like Shouichiro or Soujiro. She flung his name out as if it were a casual affair, whereas my brother and I had been named after a careful consideration of names by our grandfather. After pausing for a second or so, she had her answer.

"I will name him Ryuichi."

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Once again, I would like to gauge the initial response to this fic to see if it is worth writing; after all, wish as I might to have enough time to dedicate to fanfic writing, I don't. If there is a positive response to this, I'll give my best shot in continuing it; otherwise, I will dedicate my time to Family Planning. You see, my schedule is rather hectic, though I wish it wasn't so... 

So, thank you for reading!

No next chapter things here, because unlike my other fic, I haven't exactly thought this through thoroughly - I did this on a whim :D But then life stories should be unpredictable!


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